Last time I checked in with minimal experimentalists
Led Er Est,
I wasn’t wild about their performance, but knew, with that glint in
each member’s eye, that there was something special about them; that
some rare talent and unique sound lay ripe for awakening. Well, last
night, almost a year after I was first exposed to the band, everything
clicked in its right place for a display of rare synthetic bliss.
This particular performance precedes the anticipated release of the band’s debut LP,
Dust on Common, due out on
Wierd Records this
November. To usher in the upcoming release, the three-piece outfit
took to the stage just after midnight, immediately launching into an
equally abrasive and catchy number, filling the crowded room with sound
and fury. This particular formula; pounding disco-laced drum tracks,
deep bass synth, thin, razor-sharp guitars, and explosive bits of noise
remained steady throughout the performance, yet each song sounded fresh
and unique. Highlights included the vital, dark dance track ”Port
Isabel” (already a contender for best track of the year) and an
abrasive cover of dusty, forgotten minimal synth band Solid Space’s “
Darkness in My Soul,” a track swept under the rug by a decade of new wave excess.
Most impressive, perhaps, was Led Er Est’s final number, clocking in
around ten minutes and brimming with both pulsing layers of synth and
powerfully demonic yelps and crashes. The track was a truly
beautiful collage of sound that called the darkest horror-themed disco
to mind, part blood curdling mayhem and part sleek, seductive music of
the night. It served as a fitting conclusion to the band’s set, a
fully realized track from a fully realized band, one who I hope to
hear great things from in the future. Their next appearance falls on
Friday, October 9th, when Led Er Est is slated to appear at Barnard
College with the likes of
Martial Canterel, Light Asylum, and
Automelodi. Be there.